More than one million Michigan voters have already cast their ballots ahead of the Aug. 6 primary.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson reported Monday, Aug. 5, that about 970,000 voters have submitted an absentee ballot to be tabulated and about 73,500 people have cast their ballots during early in-person voting across the state.
“We’ve heard from many voters who appreciate having convenient early options to participate in our elections and it’s great to see people engaged in the process,” Benson said. “As always, I’m grateful to Michigan’s clerks and poll workers, who ensured a secure and smooth early voting process throughout the state.”
MLive’s coverage this year on races and election issues around the state can be found at this link.
This is the first election year where clerks around the state are required to provide a minimum of nine days of early in-person voting. The requirement stems from a statewide ballot proposal approved by Michigan voters in 2022
Benson said 73,531 voters around the state had cast their ballot in person during the early voting period, which ended Sunday. The highest turnout day was Friday, when 11,085 ballots were cast in person.
A total of 970,041 completed absentee ballots had been returned for tabulation as of Monday, Benson said.
The number fell short of the high set in 2020 when 1,288,025 completed absentee ballots had been returned the day before the primary that year.
Related: Michigan absentee votes on pace to shatter records. See totals so far by city/county.
In all, 1,638,830 voters across the state requested an absentee ballot for this year’s primary.
Polling places will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Eligible Michigan residents can still register to vote Monday and Tuesday at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency. Voters can register and cast a ballot on the same day.
Voters who haven’t yet returned their absentee ballots should place it in an official ballot drop box in their jurisdiction or hand deliver it to their local clerk’s office. Voters should not mail their ballots at this point.
With exception to military and overseas absentee ballots, all absentee ballots must be received by clerk’s offices or drop boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday or they will not be counted.
People can find more information on ballot drop box and clerk’s office locations by going to Michigan.gov/Vote. People can also find their polling place, track their absentee ballot or verify their voter registration status at that link.
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